It Started in Miami
by Loveabove
Summary: Every year we go on this "field trip" to Miami to kill demons & get a fresher break from the Talleenstitue & Florida's Capital. I thought it was going to be the same like every other year. Until we meet a boy who's bloodline was supposedly dead thirty years ago. I know it's the Shadow world but how strange could this get? Is it possible for me to find love? PSH yeah right. Ok maybe


Miami really is a good vacation spot. If you get past the hotels that shadow everything on the beaches, the tourists and traffic, and of course the demons. Every year at the Tallahassee Institute, Joseph takes the sixteen and seventeen year olds (if there are any) down to Miami to as he puts it "slay all the demonic creatures that penetrate the grounds of Miami!" in a highly melodramatic british accent that he doesn't have. It all really is just a field trip to help out, try out new techniques, and as Vanessa happily includes to get a refreshing look at hot guys on the beach.

I glanced around our hotel room overlooking the palm lined beach. Carson was sitting with Derek on their bed playing some card game with a pack they got down at the front office to the worker's surprise. They had two five dollar bills crumpled and creased between them as they played a mix of go-fish and some other thing they made up making rules along the way to get the upper hand and annoy the other. Vanessa sat on our bed flicking through a book she had brought from the library back at the Institute. It was a blue leather bound book bigger than her face with gold rune designed corners. The script from what I could see was in latin. I was sitting in the chair next to the AC unit, my feet propped up on it and pressed onto the glass, cool and pleasant like damp-dry hair.

There was a soft buzz of a phone in the sheets and Carson leapt towards it, graceful as a rhino of course and falling off the bed. I don't understand _how_ he's still an intact Shadowhunter being as horribly uncoordinated as he is.

"Joseph wants to meet us in a few minutes, better head on down," Carson said squinting at his screen as he rubbed his elbow and then flattened his dark hair. Carson was the second idiot in the group, wide ears half hidden under dark waves of hair, brown eyes like watered garden soil, and a tall broad body with pale scars on his collarbones and all down to his wrists from runes. He really wasn't too stupid compared to mundanes but compared to the average Shadowhunter he fell short of intelligence and agility.

"Alright let me finish this…" Nessa murmured as she stared intently at her page like if she took her eyes off it it would become a Forsaken. Nessa was plain with that simple pretty touch about her. She had brown hair with lighter natural streaks, blue eyes that were either behind glass lenses or contacts, and a graceful figure. She had no hard time getting decent mundanes to go out with her. If she could get past that nerdy barrier she hides behind.

"What're you reading about?" I ask mildly, only half-interested, as I slid my feet off the vent and pushed away from the chair. I walked over and slung a messenger bag over my shoulder, metal dohickeys and gadgets clinking inside along with an emergency knife and my witchlight.

"Right now about the Eilyre bloodline," she said quickly. After moving her eyes back and forth further down the page about three times, she clapped the book shut with a hard thud and looked up at me. "They were a Greek Shadowhunter family in obviously Greece," she says pulling on her sneakers. "Some of the Eilyre's were ancient kings, and army generals, and even – "

"I'm sure they were great and all but c'mon!" Derek said grumpily. "Joseph likes to poke us with his staff repeatedly if he gets tired of waiting must I remind you." Derek was a real ray of sunshine. Sandy haired with pale streaks, tan skin that defined the white rune marks a little more than the rest of us, angular handsome face, and green eyes. He was the first idiot in the group being arrogant and thick headed. For instance Joseph broke his staff a week ago.

"One woman Eilyre was a member of the Council back in 1837," Vanessa said ignoring Derek. "Unfortunately about three decades ago the Eilyre's were gone, not much detail about their family but that snippet was interesting, they just vanished." She furrowed her eyebrows in thought as she tied her laces in the hall.

"Were there paintings of hot guys and pretty girls in that book?" Carson said smugly, a smirk and a teasing expression plastered to his face.

"Shut up, Carson!" Nessa said slapping his arm. I let out a short laugh as I pulled the door shut behind me.

"There were," Carson said to no one in particular.

We rode down the elevator silently, me twisting my stele, Carson with his head hung down and thumbing through his phone, Nessa pacing thoughtfully, and Derek picking at his teeth using the elevator walls as a mirror. We wasted a few minutes stopping at the third floor due to Derek bumping the button when he moved his elbow too far up. We awkwardly stood as the door opened to a hallway of people walking past, Nessa jamming her thumb into the close-door button.

"Ahhhh, there you guys are," Joseph greeted. He wore like always bermuda shorts (filled with small weapons), his dark hair windswept and his pale skin windburned red. All around he looked like a man who seeked thrill and adventure who you imagined right at home on a jet ski or dirt bike on the beach.

"Raveners or Forsaken today?" Nessa said flatly.

"Raveners, Vanessa," Jospeh said rolling his eyes and sighing.

"Where?" Carson asks as he pulls out his stele to start drawing simple protective runes.

"Well hello Joseph! Good afternoon," I said all dramatic rolling my eyes at the other two. "I'm _ever_ so glad to see you!"

Joseph laughs and beckons us to his room, a smaller cramped area with a mussed up bed, flung open curtains, a small wooden desk beside the bed, and two duffels on the floor. One bag had the shimmering glamour on it, the one holding the weapons, and the other was spilling over with shorts, rumple tees, and underwear. He tosses a Sensor at Derek that he takes out of the weapons bag.

"Sweeeeet," Derek says looking impressed as he turned the device over. "Newest model, bro! Clave send it?" It was actually pretty new with its flat silver gleam and thinner shape.

Joseph nodded as he took out more things; a mirror with runes painted on it that bent the sun to kill demons, a jade knife that when stabbed in a certain place would incinerate most demons, a silver sword sheathed in a worn leather scabbard like it had seen one or two wars, seraph blades clear and clean, an extra Witchlight probably for Derek who is stupid enough to leave his somewhere or drop it in a sewer, and White Stars like the kind asian ninjas have only they're made of white gold and thin as potato chips.

"Where are these demons again, Joe?" Carson says again picking up the seraph blades and slipping them into his belt and a few stars into his jacket.

Joseph tosses a map at Carson, a large dot like it had been absentmindedly recircled over and over with a ballpoint was set a few miles away.

"Assignment?" Derek asked.

"I would love _all _four of you back in three hours," Joseph said grinning. "If anything happens I'll go look for you." He says. If anyone heard him, shadowhunter or mundane, they would've thought he was talking about us going to go shopping or a party, not a mission risking our lives to kill a few raveners. Sometimes I wonder if he really trusts us that we won't die or deep down really careless of us. I loved Joseph like you would an Uncle but he could be so distant.

"On it," Carson said saluting two fingers at him.

I pick up the jade knife and sword. Nessa stuffs a bunch of stars in her pockets (her favorite weapon choice). Derek has his seraph blades and scoops up the mirror.

We walk out of the room into the chilly awkward hallway and wait in silence for the elevator.

*one hour later*

"Anah!" Ness demanded holding out a waiting hand. I flicked the jade knife at her and in one fluid motion she caught it and sank it into the back of a Ravener. The hideous thing spastically arched and thrashed, shaking drops of black ichor everywhere. Then it curled in on itself like a rolypoly and kept folding until it was gone.

I turned back to my own Ravener, its mouth drooling poison and it's legs chattering on the concrete floor of the shadowed alley. It's mouth snapped at me in an almost cocky way, showing off it's brilliant razor teeth in a jagged row all in it's mouth, I suppose.

"Two words, dental cleaning!" I say crinkling my face at the horrendous smell of its breath that reached my nose. I unsheathed the dark silver sword from a place on my belt, riddled with runes etched into the blade. I gave it a swing and the stupid ravener's cocky head rolled off. "Guess I saved you some root canals." I muttered as I slid the blade into place.

"Eugh," Nessa grumbled as she examined the jade knife. It was slick and coated with a layer of Ichor, black blood of demons. "Why can't they bleed gold dust or butterflies?"

I reached up and pulled out the plastic band in my hair letting the sweaty bronze curls get shaken out before retying it up in a tight ponytail.

"Because they're demons," I say giving her a dry smile, my tone the type you use when you're teaching a child. "They're not exactly made of gold dust and butterflies."

"We're really lucky they bleed only black sticky stuff." A voice echoed out hollowly from deeper in the winding alley. It seemed young but not like a child's. Youthful and full of dry humor. Definitely a teenager. "If they bled butterflies we'd have a bigger problem with a butterfly world dominance."

I felt my heart flutter, a jolt go through all my nerves. Vanessa had stiffened a bit too, confusion crossing her coppery face.

"That's not Carson or Derek." Nessa called out. It wasn't a question more like a statement with an underlying "you're a shish kabob buddy unless you prove yourself friendly."

"Nope I'm Zander," The voice called back a smile in his voice. He sounded casual and perfectly at ease.

"Zander who?" I asked. I rested a hand on my sword hilt as we both started down the alley.

"Zander Eilyre," He said as if this was completely obvious. Footsteps echoed back to us, his shoes sounded like they had squishing soles as we heard him step in a puddle.

"That's impossible!" Nessa says frowning. "Zander Eilyre is dead!"

"_All_ Eilyre's are dead aren't they?" I hissed at Nessa.

"Well what _isn't_ impossible in the shadow world? _There's _a better question," he stepped out of the shadows, and I saw the most arrogant and beautiful face I've ever seen.

**A/N: Well it's my first story on here and my second Fanfiction that's gotten this far (and that's not very long) but I hope you like it! Review please! It would be a blessing. Thank you if you read this. Thank you so much! :)**


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